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| benefits of creative writing: Writing Into the Dark: How to Write a Novel Without an Outline Dean Wesley Smith, 2015-05-07 With more than a hundred published novels and more than seventeen million copies of his books in print, USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith knows how to outline. And he knows how to write a novel without an outline. In this WMG Writer's Guide, Dean takes you step-by-step through the process of writing without an outline and explains why not having an outline boosts your creative voice and keeps you more interested in your writing. Want to enjoy your writing more and entertain yourself? Then toss away your outline and Write into the Dark. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Therapeutic Potential of Creative Writing Gillie Bolton, 1999-01-01 Writing is a means of making sense of experience, and of arriving at a deeper understanding of the self. The use of creative writing therapeutically can complement verbal discussions, and offers a cost- and time-effective way of extending support to depressed or psychologically distressed patients. Suitable both for health-care professionals who wish to implement therapeutic writing with their patients, and for those wishing to start writing creatively in order to help themselves, The Therapeutic Potential of Creative Writing provides practical, well tried and tested suggestions for beginning to write and for developing writing further. It includes ideas for writing individually and for directing groups, and explores journal writing, poetry, fiction, autobiography and writing out trauma, with established writers and those who have taken up writing for private enjoyment. |
| benefits of creative writing: Creative Writing and Education Graeme Harper, 2015-04-01 This book explores creative writing and its various relationships to education through a number of short, evocative chapters written by key players in the field. At times controversial, the book presents issues, ideas and pedagogic practices related to creative writing in and around education, with a focus on higher education. The volume aims to give the reader a sense of contemporary thinking and to provide some alternative points of view, offering examples of how those involved feel about the relationship between creative writing and education. Many of the contributors play notable roles in national and international organizations concerned with creative writing and education. The book also includes a Foreword by Philip Gross, who won the 2009 TS Eliot Prize for poetry. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Happy Writing Book Elise Valmorbida, 2023-02-16 'There are many guides to good writing but none as valuable as this.' Oliver Kamm, author and columnist for The Times Creative writing can enhance wellbeing, which can enhance creative writing, which can enhance wellbeing ... Become a better writer with over 100 inspiring prompts, insights and exercises specially devised by an award-winning author and creative writing teacher. Discover how the practice of creative writing - being expressive, exploring ideas, crafting words, shaping stories - can also deepen your appreciation of life. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Psychology of Creative Writing Scott Barry Kaufman, James C. Kaufman, 2009-06-29 The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, the writer's development, the link between creative writing and mental illness, the personality traits of comedy and screen writers, and how to teach creative writing. This book will appeal to psychologists interested in creativity, writers who want to understand more about the magic behind their talents, and educated laypeople who enjoy reading, writing, or both. From scholars to bloggers to artists, The Psychology of Creative Writing has something for everyone. |
| benefits of creative writing: Rewrite Your Life Jessica Lourey, 2017-01-01 According to common wisdom, we all have a book inside of us. But how do you select and then write your most significant story--the one that helps you to evolve and invites pure creativity into your life, the one that people line up to read? In [this book], creative writing professor, sociologist, and popular fiction author Jessica Lourey guides you through the redemptive process of writing a healing novel that recycles and transforms your most precious resources--your own emotions and experiences--Amazon.com. |
| benefits of creative writing: Still Writing Dani Shapiro, 2013-10-01 This national bestseller from celebrated novelist and memoirist Dani Shapiro is an intimate and eloquent companion to living a creative life. Through a blend of memoir, meditation on the artistic process, and advice on craft, Shapiro offers her gift to writers everywhere: a guide of hard-won wisdom and advice for staying the course. In the ten years since the first edition, Still Writing has become a mainstay of creative writing classes as well as a lodestar for writers just starting out, and above all, an indispensable almanac for modern writers. |
| benefits of creative writing: Transformative Learning through Creative Life Writing Celia Hunt, 2013-06-26 Arising from a research project conducted over two years, Transformative Learning through Creative Life Writing examines the effects of fictional autobiography on adult learners’ sense of self. Starting from a teaching and learning perspective, Hunt draws together ideas from psychodynamic psychotherapy, literary and learning theory, and work in the cognitive and neurosciences of the self and consciousness, to argue that creative life writing undertaken in a supportive learning environment, alongside opportunities for critical reflection, has the power to transform the way people think and learn. It does this by opening them up to a more embodied self-experience, which increases their awareness of the source of their thinking in bodily feeling and enables them to develop a more reflexive approach to learning. Hunt locates this work within recent developments in the influential field of transformative learning. She also identifies it as a form of therapeutic education arguing, contrary to those who say that this approach leads to a diminished sense of self, that it can help people to develop a stronger sense of agency, whether for writing or learning or relations with others. Topics covered include: Creative writing as a tool for personal and professional development The transformative benefits and challenges of creative writing as a therapeutic activity The relationships between literary structures and the processes of thinking and feeling The role of cognitive-emotional learning in adult education Collaborative learning and the role of the group This book will interest teachers in adult, further and higher education who wish to use creative life writing as a tool for learning, as well as health care professionals seeking art-based techniques for use in their practice. It will also prove useful to academics interested in the relationship between education and psychotherapy, and in the theory and practice of transformative learning. Additionally, it will appeal to writers seeking a deeper understanding of the creative process. |
| benefits of creative writing: Craft in the Real World Matthew Salesses, 2021-01-19 This national bestseller is a significant contribution to discussions of the art of fiction and a necessary challenge to received views about whose stories are told, how they are told and for whom they are intended (Laila Lalami, The New York Times Book Review). The traditional writing workshop was established with white male writers in mind; what we call craft is informed by their cultural values. In this bold and original examination of elements of writing—including plot, character, conflict, structure, and believability—and aspects of workshop—including the silenced writer and the imagined reader—Matthew Salesses asks questions to invigorate these familiar concepts. He upends Western notions of how a story must progress. How can we rethink craft, and the teaching of it, to better reach writers with diverse backgrounds? How can we invite diverse storytelling traditions into literary spaces? Drawing from examples including One Thousand and One Nights, Curious George, Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, and the Asian American classic No-No Boy, Salesses asks us to reimagine craft and the workshop. In the pages of exercises included here, teachers will find suggestions for building syllabi, grading, and introducing new methods to the classroom; students will find revision and editing guidance, as well as a new lens for reading their work. Salesses shows that we need to interrogate the lack of diversity at the core of published fiction: how we teach and write it. After all, as he reminds us, When we write fiction, we write the world. |
| benefits of creative writing: Writing Creative Nonfiction Philip Gerard, 2001-05-10 Experience the power and the promise of working in today' most exciting literary form: Creative Nonfiction Writing Creative Nonfiction presents more than thirty essays examining every key element of the craft, from researching ideas and structuring the story, to reportage and personal reflection. You'll learn from some of today's top creative nonfiction writers, including: • Terry Tempest Williams - Analyze your motivation for writing, its value, and its strength. • Alan Cheuse - Discover how interesting, compelling essays can be drawn from every corner of your life and the world in which you live. • Phillip Lopate - Build your narrator–yourself–into a fully fleshed-out character, giving your readers a clearer, more compelling idea of who is speaking and why they should listen. • Robin Hemley - Develop a narrative strategy for structuring your story and making it cohesive. • Carolyn Forche - Master the journalistic ethics of creative nonfiction. • Dinty W. Moore - Use satire, exaggeration, juxtaposition, and other forms of humor in creative nonfiction. • Philip Gerard - Understand the narrative stance–why and how an author should, or should not, enter into the story. Through insightful prompts and exercises, these contributors help make the challenge of writing creative nonfiction–whether biography, true-life adventure, memoir, or narrative history–a welcome, rewarding endeavor. You'll also find an exciting, creative nonfiction reader comprising the final third of the book, featuring pieces from Barry Lopez, Annie Dillard, Beverly Lowry, Phillip Lopate, and more–selections so extraordinary, they will teach, delight, inspire, and entertain you for years to come! |
| benefits of creative writing: The Elements of Academic Style Eric Hayot, 2014-08-26 Eric Hayot teaches graduate students and faculty in literary and cultural studies how to think and write like a professional scholar. From granular concerns, such as sentence structure and grammar, to big-picture issues, such as adhering to genre patterns for successful research and publishing and developing productive and rewarding writing habits, Hayot helps ambitious students, newly minted Ph.D.'s, and established professors shape their work and develop their voices. Hayot does more than explain the techniques of academic writing. He aims to adjust the writer's perspective, encouraging scholars to think of themselves as makers and doers of important work. Scholarly writing can be frustrating and exhausting, yet also satisfying and crucial, and Hayot weaves these experiences, including his own trials and tribulations, into an ethos for scholars to draw on as they write. Combining psychological support with practical suggestions for composing introductions and conclusions, developing a schedule for writing, using notes and citations, and structuring paragraphs and essays, this guide to the elements of academic style does its part to rejuvenate scholarship and writing in the humanities. |
| benefits of creative writing: Creative Writing Studies Graeme Harper, Jeri Kroll, 2008 Here creative writers who are also university teachers monitor their contribution to this popular discipline in essays that indicate how far it has come in the USA, the UK and Australia. |
| benefits of creative writing: Anatomy of a Premise Line Jeff Lyons, 2015-06-05 If a story is going to fail, it will do so first at the premise level. Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success is the only book of its kind to identify a seven-step development process that can be repeated and applied to any story idea. This process will save you time, money, and potentially months of wasted writing. So whether you are trying to write a feature screenplay, develop a television pilot, or just trying to figure out your next story move as a writer, this book gives you the tools you need to know which ideas are worth pursuing. In addition to the 7-step premise development tool, Anatomy of a Premise Line also presents a premise and idea testing methodology that can be used to test any developed premise line. Customized exercises and worksheets are included to facilitate knowledge transfer, so that by the end of the book, you will have a fully developed premise line, log line, tagline, and a completed premise-testing checklist. Here is some of what you will learn inside: Ways to determine whether or not your story is a good fit for print or screen Case studies and hands-on worksheets to help you learn by participating in the process Tips on how to effectively work through writer’s block A companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/lyons) with additional worksheets, videos, and interactive tools to help you learn the basics of perfecting a killer premise line |
| benefits of creative writing: Creative Journal Writing Stephanie Dowrick, 2009-02-05 Winner of the COVR Award for Book of the Year (2007) From the #1 creativity publisher in the country comes our latest creativity bestseller—Creative Journal Writing—the ultimate book for those who are looking to use this powerful tool to heal, expand, and transform their lives. In this exceptionally positive and encouraging book, Stephanie Dowrick frees the journal writer she believes is in virtually everyone, showing through stories and examples that a genuine sense of possibility can be revived on every page. Creative journal writing goes way beyond just recording events on paper. It can be the companion that supports but doesn?t judge, a place of unparalleled discovery, and a creative playground where the everyday rules no longer count. Proven benefits of journal writing include reduced stress and anxiety, increased self-awareness, sharpened mental skills, genuine psychological insight, creative inspiration and motivation, strengthened ability to cope during difficult times, and overall physical and emotional well-being. Combining a rich choice of ideas with wonderful stories, quotes, and her refreshingly intimate thoughts gained through a lifetime of writing, Dowrick?s insights and confidence make journal writing irresistible?and your own life more enchanting. Included in Creative Journal Writing are: u stories of how people have used journal writing to transform their lives; · inspirational instructions, guidelines, and quotes; · key principles, practical suggestions, and helpful hints; · 125 starter topics, designed to help even the most reluctant journal writer; · more than forty powerful exercises; · and much more! |
| benefits of creative writing: Catch the Moon, Mary Wendy Waters, 2017-11-04 A magical story about a gifted but vulnerable girl who is both saved and damned by an angel who falls in love with her music and claims it as his own in a Faustian pact. With Mary in his thrall, he ruthlessly kills those who threaten his plan to bring Mary to Carnegie Hall where her talent will be hailed supreme. Sunday Express, March 2017: 'Catch the Moon, Mary is one of my six favourite books' - Amanda Redman, actress/director/arts patron/head of ATS, New Tricks, The Good Karma Hospital, Sexy Beast 'Beyond beautiful' - Simon Egerton, singer-songwriter, composer, lyricist 'Original and scintillating, tantalising and thought-provoking. A novel about the transformative powers of music and beauty' - Hazel Philips OAM, Gold Logie winner, author of Black River, Bright Star 'Weaves a singular spell mesmerising the reader on several levels like a fugue. Wendy Waters and her characters believe deeply in the power of music, which pours lyrically from her sentences' - Joshua Rosenblum, composer, conductor, music critic 'A rare and ingenious glimpse into the real and the surreal. Waters interfaces these twin realities with ease and dexterity, reminding us of the profound yet often neglected depth of imagination. A brave and unique journey' - Gerry Taylor-Wood, international lecturer on Esoteric Sciences and author of The Journey to the Sacred Well |
| benefits of creative writing: International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education Bee Chamcharatsri, Atsushi Iida, 2022-02-10 This volume explores the instructional use of creative writing in secondary and post-secondary contexts to enhance students’ language proficiency and expression in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Offering a diverse range of perspectives from scholars and practitioners involved in English language teaching (ELT) globally, International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education tackles foundational questions around why fiction and creative writing have been traditionally omitted from ESL and EFL curricula. By drawing on empirical research and first-hand experience, contributors showcase a range of creative genres including autobiography, scriptwriting, poetry, and e-Portfolios, and provide new insight into the benefits of second language creative writing for learners’ language proficiency, emotional expression, and identity development. The volume makes a unique contribution to the field of second language writing by highlighting the breadth of second language users throughout the world, and foregrounding links between identity, learning, and ESL/EFL writing. This insightful volume will be of particular interest to postgraduate students, researchers, and academics in the fields of ESL/EFL learning, composition studies, and second language acquisition (SLA). Those with a focus on the use of creative writing in classrooms more broadly, will also find the book of interest. |
| benefits of creative writing: Writing for Pleasure Ross Young, Felicity Ferguson, 2020-12-29 This book explores what writing for pleasure means, and how it can be realised as a much-needed pedagogy whose aim is to develop children, young people, and their teachers as extraordinary and life-long writers. The approach described is grounded in what global research has long been telling us are the most effective ways of teaching writing and contains a description of the authors’ own research project into what exceptional teachers of writing do that makes the difference. The authors describe ways of building communities of committed and successful writers who write with purpose, power, and pleasure, and they underline the importance of the affective aspects of writing teaching, including promoting in apprentice writers a sense of self-efficacy, agency, self-regulation, volition, motivation, and writer-identity. They define and discuss 14 research-informed principles which constitute a Writing for Pleasure pedagogy and show how they are applied by teachers in classroom practice. Case studies of outstanding teachers across the globe further illustrate what world-class writing teaching is. This ground-breaking text is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the current status and nature of writing teaching in schools. The rich Writing for Pleasure pedagogy presented here is a radical new conception of what it means to teach young writers effectively today. |
| benefits of creative writing: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy Orson Scott Card, 1990-07-15 Defines both genres, tells how to write a successful story, and where to find markets to get published. |
| benefits of creative writing: In Praise of Slowness Carl Honore, 2009-04-14 We live in the age of speed. We strain to be more efficient, to cram more into each minute, each hour, each day. Since the Industrial Revolution shifted the world into high gear, the cult of speed has pushed us to a breaking point. Consider these facts: Americans on average spend seventy-two minutes of every day behind the wheel of a car, a typical business executive now loses sixty-eight hours a year to being put on hold, and American adults currently devote on average a mere half hour per week to making love. Living on the edge of exhaustion, we are constantly reminded by our bodies and minds that the pace of life is spinning out of control. In Praise of Slowness traces the history of our increasingly breathless relationship with time and tackles the consequences of living in this accelerated culture of our own creation. Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down? Realizing the price we pay for unrelenting speed, people all over the world are reclaiming their time and slowing down the pace -- and living happier, healthier, and more productive lives as a result. A Slow revolution is taking place. Here you will find no Luddite calls to overthrow technology and seek a preindustrial utopia. This is a modern revolution, championed by cell-phone using, e-mailing lovers of sanity. The Slow philosophy can be summed up in a single word -- balance. People are discovering energy and efficiency where they may have been least expected -- in slowing down. In this engaging and entertaining exploration, award-winning journalist and rehabilitated speedaholic Carl Honoré details our perennial love affair with efficiency and speed in a perfect blend of anecdotal reportage, history, and intellectual inquiry. In Praise of Slowness is the first comprehensive look at the worldwide Slow movements making their way into the mainstream -- in offices, factories, neighborhoods, kitchens, hospitals, concert halls, bedrooms, gyms, and schools. Defining a movement that is here to stay, this spirited manifesto will make you completely rethink your relationship with time. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Art of Creative Writing Lajos Egri, 2020-12-29 “One of the few truly helpful books on fiction writing.” —Chicago Tribune Go beyond Stephen King’s On Writing to master the fundamentals of great storytelling with this foundational guide that reveals the essential elements of what makes the best fiction. The Art of Creative Writing is a timeless testament to the power of dialogue and character development that is accessible for every level of writer from beginner to established author. As in the bestselling The Art of Dramatic Writing, still considered one of the most essential books on playwriting more than 75 years after publication, the author outlines in detail his highly acclaimed Egri Method of Creative Writing and shows how to apply it to all fiction formats—novels, short stories, and screenplays. Grounded in Egri’s assertion that “Every type of creative writing depends upon the credibility of a character,” here is concise, clear advice on the most important element of good writing: characterization. Step by step, Egri shows writers how to probe the secrets of human motivation to create flesh-and-blood characters who create suspense and conflict, and who grow emotionally under stress and strain. As practical as it is inspiring, The Art of Creative Writing remains a timeless, illuminating guide that teaches every writer, and aspiring writer, how to create works that are both compelling and enduring. |
| benefits of creative writing: A Visit from St. Nicholas Clement Clarke Moore, 1921 A poem about the visit that Santa Claus pays to the children of the world during the night before every Christmas. |
| benefits of creative writing: Productivity for Writers Kristina Adams, 2018-03-17 More than 80% of the global population want to write a book, but the majority never do. Fear, anxiety, day jobs, family commitments, procrastination, depression, self-doubt, and the ubiquitous 'writer's block' all get in the way. But what if they didn't have to? Kristina Adams draws on her 20 years in the literary world to help you build a sustainable writing practice that adapts to your lifestyle, whatever that may be. You'll be the most productive you've ever been in no time. |
| benefits of creative writing: A Little Book. [On the Creation, with special reference to the Book of Revelation.] , 1851 |
| benefits of creative writing: Redrawing India Kovid Gupta, Shaheen Mistri, 2014-11-01 Eighteen-year-old Shaheen Mistri, having grown up around the world, spends the summer in Mumbai and wanders into the Ambedkar Nagar slum community. She sees Pinky, who becomes the first of the thousands of children whose lives she will touch on her journey. Hers are the endlessly compelling stories of the underprivileged children of India, the harsh realities that they face, and the hope and love that will catapult them into being a future generation of leaders. This is a story of the power of personal reflection and makes us ask ourselves the question, ‘What is the greatest life I can live?’ And in answer are the personal accounts of so many Teach For India Fellows and staff, India’s best and brightest, who have shown that each and every one of us, working together, towards the belief that one day every child will have the opportunity to receive an excellent education, has the power to change the world. |
| benefits of creative writing: DIY MFA Gabriela Pereira, 2016-07-08 Get the Knowledge Without the College! You are a writer. You dream of sharing your words with the world, and you're willing to put in the hard work to achieve success. You may have even considered earning your MFA, but for whatever reason--tuition costs, the time commitment, or other responsibilities--you've never been able to do it. Or maybe you've been looking for a self-guided approach so you don't have to go back to school. This book is for you. DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA--writing, reading, and community--it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers, and publish your work. Inside you'll learn how to: • Set customized goals for writing and learning. • Generate ideas on demand. • Outline your book from beginning to end. • Breathe life into your characters. • Master point of view, voice, dialogue, and more. • Read with a writer's eye to emulate the techniques of others. • Network like a pro, get the most out of writing workshops, and submit your work successfully. Writing belongs to everyone--not only those who earn a degree. With DIY MFA, you can take charge of your writing, produce high-quality work, get published, and build a writing career. |
| benefits of creative writing: OBSERVE to UNMASK Pushpendra Mehta, 2020-07-28 Readers' Favorite (5-Star Review): Observe to Unmask: 100 Small Things to Know People Better by Pushpendra Mehta is a tidy little book with big, helpful insights into the human heart and psyche. Pushpendra Mehta has written a must-read book for anyone on a quest to understand people better, including themselves, and benefit from these insights for a happier and more fulfilling life...Read this book - and learn from one of the best. - Stacey Chillemi, Founder of The Complete Herbal Guide, Writer, Huff Post and Thrive Global Pushpendra Mehta, writer, marketer, and mentor, has been an observer of human behavior all his life. Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's memorable fictional detective character, Sherlock Holmes, Pushpendra realized people drop subtle clues to their true nature, which is often hidden behind masks. The more he watched and studied, the better able he was to discern who people truly were. In 2019, he answered a question-What small thing can tell you a lot about a person?-that was posted on Quora, a popular question-and-answer website. His answer received over 1 million views. This unexpected response led him to write Observe to Unmask, in which he explains what we can learn about people based on their conversations (including social media posts), interests, behavior, emotions, thoughts, and more. Packed with intriguing insights, Observe to Unmask is useful in understanding not only the people in our personal and professional lives, but can act as a guide for self-reflection and improvement. Short and easy to read, it is a book you will turn to again and again, always finding something new and worthwhile. Observe to Unmask will sharpen your ability to draw conclusions quickly and accurately from the smallest observations. It will help you develop positive relationships or harmonious associations that work for you and make you happier; assist you in comprehending an individual's backstory; prevent you from being exploited, abused, manipulated, or lied to; aid you in distancing yourself from negative or toxic people, or avoiding them as much as possible. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a Writer Kevin Larimer, Mary Gannon, 2020-04-07 The definitive source of information, insight, and advice for creative writers, from the nation’s largest and most trusted organization for writers, Poets & Writers. For half a century, writers at every stage of their careers have turned to the literary nonprofit organization Poets & Writers and its award-winning magazine for resources to foster their professional development, from writing prompts and tips on technique to informative interviews with published authors, literary agents, and editors. But never before has Poets & Writers marshaled its fifty years’ worth of knowledge to create an authoritative guide for writers that answers every imaginable question about craft and career—until now. Here is the writing bible for authors of all genres and forms, covering topics such as how to: -Harness your imagination and jump-start your creativity -Develop your work from initial idea to final draft -Find a supportive and inspiring writing community to sustain your career -Find the best MFA program for you -Publish your work in literary magazines and develop a platform -Research writing contests and other opportunities to support your writing life -Decide between traditional publishing and self-publishing -Find the right literary agent -Anticipate what agents look for in queries and proposals -Work successfully with an editor and your publishing team -Market yourself and your work in a digital world -Approach financial planning and taxes as a writer -And much more Written by Kevin Larimer and Mary Gannon, the two most recent editors of Poets & Writers Magazine, this book brings an unrivaled understanding of the areas in which writers seek guidance and support. Filled with insider information like sample query letters, pitch letters, lists of resources, and worksheets for calculating freelance rates, tracking submissions, and managing your taxes, the guide does more than demystify the writing life—it also provides an array of powerful tools for building a sustainable career as a writer. In addition to the wealth of insights into creativity, publishing, and promotion are first-person essays from bestselling authors, including George Saunders, Christina Baker Kline, and Ocean Vuong, as well as reading lists from award-winning writers such as Anthony Doerr, Cheryl Strayed, and Natalie Diaz. Here, at last, is the ultimate comprehensive resource that belongs on every writer’s desk. |
| benefits of creative writing: Power and Identity in the Creative Writing Classroom Anna Leahy, 2005-11-11 Power and Identity In the Creative Writing Classroom remaps theories and practices for teaching creative writing at university and college level. This collection critiques well-established approaches for teaching creative writing in all genres and builds a comprehensive and adaptable pedagogy based on issues of authority, power, and identity. A long-needed reflection, this book shapes creative writing pedagogy for the 21st century. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Train-Of-Thought Writing Method Kathi Macias, 2005-02-14 It is said that writing is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. I absolutely agree, and Im sure most successful writers would echo my sentiments: Inspiration is the easy part. Over the years I have spoken with and taught beginning writers from all around the world, in all sorts of settings. I have helped them review, edit, and rewrite their work, and I have found one common thread among those would-be writers who eventually become published authors: They are willing to devote themselves to the not-so-easy part of writingthe 90 percent perspiration. As I worked with these many writers I discovered what I consider to be the simplest and most practical writing method availablethe train-of-thought method. This excellent, well known writing method did not originate with me, but it seems no one had ever taken the time to put the method in book form. I therefore decided to do so myself. This is not a book about proper grammar or punctuation, or how best to choose the voice or set the scene for your great American novel. There are already countless books covering those subjects, if thats what youre looking for. But if you want to know how best to take your thoughts and dreams and put them into a clear, compelling, readable manuscript, then this is the book for you. Having personally seen the train-of-thought writing method help so many new writers learn to organize, write, and polish their ideas into successful manuscripts, I offer this book to those who would do the same. May it direct and encourage you as you enter into the 90 percent perspiration phase of your writing careerthe serious phase through which true writers are formed. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Authentic Swing Steven Pressfield, 2013-09-24 The Story Behind THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE If you've read his books THE WAR OF ART and TURNING PRO, you know that for thirty years Steven Pressfield (GATES OF FIRE, THE AFGHAN CAMPAIGN etc.) wrote spec novel after spec novel before any publisher took him seriously. How did he finally break through? Ignoring just about every rule of commercial book publishing, Pressfield's first novel not only became a major bestseller (over 250,000 copies sold), it was adapted into a feature film directed by Robert Redford and starring Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Charlize Theron. Where did he get the idea? What magical something did THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE have that his previous manuscripts lacked? Why did Pressfield decide to write a novel when he already had a well established screenwriting career? How does writing a publishable novel really work? Taking a page from John Steinbeck's classic JOURNAL OF A NOVEL, Steven Pressfield offers answers for these and scores of other practical writing questions in THE AUTHENTIC SWING. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Inheritance of Haunting Heidi Andrea Restrepo Rhodes, 2019-03-30 Winner of the 2018 Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, The Inheritance of Haunting, by Heidi Andrea Restrepo Rhodes, is a collection of poems contending with historical memory and its losses and gains carried within the body, wrought through colonization and its generations of violence, war, and survival. The driving forces behind Rhodes’s work include a decolonizing ethos; a queer sensibility that extends beyond sexual and gender identities to include a politics of deviance; errantry; ramshackled bodies; and forms of loving and living that persist in their wild difference. Invoking individual and collective ghosts inherited across diverse geographies, this collection queers the space between past, present, and future. In these poems, haunting is a kind of memory weaving that can bestow a freedom from the attenuations of the so-called American dream, which, according to Rhodes, is a nightmare of assimilation, conquest, and genocide. How love unfolds is also a Big Bang emergence into life—a way to, again and again, cut the future open, open up the opening, undertake it, begin. These poems are written for immigrants, queer and transgender people of color, women, Latin Americans, diasporic communities, and the many impacted by war. |
| benefits of creative writing: K-Town Confidential Brad Chisholm, Claire Kim, 2021-09-20 Young lawyer Holly Park is hired to defend teenager Naomi Linser - charged with murder in the stabbing death of the local Councilman. The crime takes place in a gritty Koreatown 'room salon' with Naomi holding the murder weapon. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal Julia Cameron, 2016-11-08 Elegantly repackaged, The Morning Pages Journal is one of The Artist's Way's most effective tools for cultivating creativity, personal growth, and change. Now more compact and featuring spiral binding to make for easier use, these Morning Pages invite you to do three pages daily of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness, which provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize, and synchronize the day at hand. This daily writing, coupled with the twelve-week program outlined in The Artist's Way, will help you discover and recover your personal creativity, artistic confidence, and productivity. The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal includes an introduction by Julia Cameron, complete instructions on how to use the Morning Pages and benefit fully from their daily use, and inspiring quotations that will guide you through the process. |
| benefits of creative writing: Apple Island Wife Fiona Stocker, 2018-12-04 What happens when you leave city life and move to five acres on a hunch, with a husband who’s an aspiring alpaca-whisperer, and a feral cockerel for company? Can you eat the cockerel for dinner? Or has it got rigor mortis? In search of a good life and a slower pace, Fiona Stocker upped-sticks and moved to Tasmania, a land of promise, wilderness, and family homes of uncertain build quality. It was the lifestyle change that many dream of and most are too sensible to attempt. Wife, mother and now reluctant alpaca owner, Fiona jumped in at the deep end. Gradually Tasmania got under her skin as she learned to stack wood, round up the kids with a retired lady sheepdog, and stand on a scorpion without getting stung. This charming tale captures the tussles and euphoria of living on the land in a place of untrammelled beauty, raising your family where you want to and seeing your husband in a whole new light. Not just a memoir but an everywoman’s story, and a paean to a new, slower age. |
| benefits of creative writing: 2k to 10k Rachel Aaron, 2017-08-21 I loved this book! So helpful! -- Courtney Milan, New York Times Best Selling author of The Governess Affair Have you ever wanted to double your daily word counts? Do you feel like you're crawling through your story, struggling for each paragraph? Would you like to get more words every day without increasing the time you spend writing or sacrificing quality? It's not impossible, it's not even that hard. This is the story of how, with a few simple changes, I boosted my daily writing from 2000 words to over 10k a day, and how you can, too. Expanding on her highly successful process for doubling daily word counts, this book--a combination of reworked blog posts and new material--offers practical writing advice for anyone who's ever longed to increase their daily writing output. In addition to updated information for Rachel's popular 2k to 10k writing efficiency process, 5 step plotting method, and easy editing tips, this new book includes chapters on creating characters that write their own stories, story structure, and learning to love your daily writing. Full of easy to follow, practical advice from a commercial author who doesn't eat if she doesn't produce good books on a regular basis, 2k to 10k focuses not just on writing faster, but writing better, and having more fun while you do it. *New for Fall 2013! This Revised Edition includes updates and corrections for all chapters!* |
| benefits of creative writing: Whole Novels for the Whole Class Ariel Sacks, 2013-10-21 Work with students at all levels to help them read novels Whole Novels is a practical, field-tested guide to implementing a student-centered literature program that promotes critical thinking and literary understanding through the study of novels with middle school students. Rather than using novels simply to teach basic literacy skills and comprehension strategies, Whole Novels approaches literature as art. The book is fully aligned with the Common Core ELA Standards and offers tips for implementing whole novels in various contexts, including suggestions for teachers interested in trying out small steps in their classrooms first. Includes a powerful method for teaching literature, writing, and critical thinking to middle school students Shows how to use the Whole Novels approach in conjunction with other programs Includes video clips of the author using the techniques in her own classroom This resource will help teachers work with students of varying abilities in reading whole novels. |
| benefits of creative writing: Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint Orson Scott Card, 1999-03-15 Vivid and memorable characters aren't born: they have to be made. &break;&break;This book is a set of tools: literary crowbars, chisels, mallets, pliers and tongs. Use them to pry, chip, yank and sift good characters out of the place where they live in your memory, your imagination and your soul. &break;&break;Award-winning author Orson Scott Card explains in depth the techniques of inventing, developing and presenting characters, plus handling viewpoint in novels and short stories. With specific examples, he spells out your narrative options–the choices you'll make in creating fictional people so real that readers will feel they know them like members of their own families. &break;&break;You'll learn how to: &break; draw the characters from a variety of sources, including a story's basic idea, real life–even a character's social circumstances&break; make characters show who they are by the things they do and say, and by their individual style&break; develop characters readers will love–or love to hate&break; distinguish among major characters, minor characters and walk-ons, and develop each one appropriately&break; choose the most effective viewpoint to reveal the characters and move the storytelling&break; decide how deeply you should explore your characters' thoughts, emotions and attitudes |
| benefits of creative writing: The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing David Morley, 2007-05-10 Publisher description |
| benefits of creative writing: If You Want to Write Brenda Ueland, 2013-05-20 Brenda Ueland was a journalist, editor, freelance writer, and teacher of writing. In If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit she shares her philosophies on writing and life in general. Ueland firmly believed that anyone can write, that everyone is talented, original, and has something important to say. In this book she explains how find that spark that will make you a great writer. Carl Sandburg called this book the best book ever written about how to write. Join the millions of others who've found inspiration and unlocked their own talent. |
| benefits of creative writing: The Norma Gene M.E. Roufa, 2015-08-03 As the world’s first completely illegal clone of America’s 16th President, Abe Finkelstein grew up with just one wish: to live his life just like anybody else. But when you’re a living ringer for one of the country’s best-loved historical figures, privacy is hard to come by—especially when your face is on money. Across town, Norma Greenberg, one of the world’s many Marilyn Monroe clones, is struggling with identity issues of a different sort. It’s not easy going through life as a copy of the beautiful Norma Jeane Baker! When Abe is taken away by government agents eager to discover the secrets of his illustrious ancestor, Norma could be Abe’s last hope of escape—or, thanks to her kleptomania, his worst chance of recapture. With only their wits, a cigarette lighter, a bottle of perfume, and the disembodied arm of Richard Nixon, can Abe and Norma make it back to safety and anonymity? |
Creative writing in schools evidence review - Scottish Book Trust
Research shows that the creative and imaginative aspects of an activity are key to allowing pupils to reap the benefits from creative writing. These expressive elements increase pupil confidence, …
THE EFFECTS OF CREATIVE WRITING ACTIVITIES ON …
writing activities emphasize skills such as planning, criticizing, developing, making decisions, and evaluating is directly related to creativity (Uzun, 2015), and one of the methods in which these …
The Psychology of Creative Writing - Scott Barry Kaufman
scientific knowledge about the psychology of creative writing. In particular, investigations of the personality and mood of creative writers have yielded interesting insights into the determinants …
The Importance of Writing * Blanka Frydrychova Klimova
Maley (2009), for example, emphasizes the following benefits of creative writing: • it aids language development at all levels: grammar, vo-cabulary, phonology and discourse; it requires...
Expressive and creative writing in the therapeutic context: From …
We found that, although expressive writing is clearly defined and its benefits on mental health empirically well established, creative writing lacks a consistent conceptualization in clinical …
Creative Writing - Duke University
Creative writing, a form of artistic expression, draws on the imagination to convey meaning through the use of imagery, narrative, and drama. This is in contrast to analytic or pragmatic forms of …
Creative Writing in Schools - papernations.org
Writers involved in Paper Nations highlighted the benefits of having space and structure to generate ideas, reflect on one another’s writing, and engage in the process (rather than focusing purely on …
CREATIVE WRITING FOR EFL CLASSROOM: STUDENTS’ …
educational benefits of creative writing can enhance the pedagogical approach, fostering a more comprehensive and enriching learning experience for EFL students.
Neon Words: The Benefits of Expressive Writing Flyer
Expressive writing has many benefits. Writing about life helps people, among other things: • get healthy! Research shows that people who write about emotional up- heavals require fewer doctor …
Creative writing planning and evaluation toolkit - Scottish Book …
There are many benefits of creative writing, including improvements in health and wellbeing, positive destinations, and attainment across the curriculum through improved literacy skills.
RETHINKING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CREATIVE WRITING: A …
in what ways can we see creative writing as an art form and why is it educationally valuable? What is lost in a functional view of creative writing and how does it contribute to language learning?
N43 05 Creative Writing Learning Benefits and Effective …
In addition, learners can improve their language awareness because creative writing encourages them to be more attentive to their own discourse. An effective learning method is the …
Creative Writing, Literature, Storytelling and Mental Health
vided useful evidence for the benefits of creative writing, as distinct from the arts in general. It identified specific positive consequences from using literature, creative writing and poetry in …
Using Technology to Support Creative Writing: How It Affects …
We concluded that web-assisted creative writing practices had positive effects on teachers’ digital writing skills, digital writing habits, self-efficacy regarding digital education technology …
ENHANCING CREATIVE WRITING ABILITIES IN A FOREIGN …
Creative writing is the most effective way of communicating ideas, thoughts, feelings and opinions. It enriches our vocabulary, develops imagination, and improves expressiveness, all of which help …
Why teach creative writing? Examining the challenges of its
In brief, it suggests that many creative writing teachers: • Facilitate their students’ personal growth and healing. • Encourage the exploration of unknown topics. • Help their students sell their …
the psychology of creative writing - Cambridge University …
The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, the …
The effectiveness of creative writing in language learners
According to Ekaterina Arshavskaya (2015), creative writing could be a way to engage those students that have less motivation. Archavskaya (2015) argues that students, with the help of the …
What is creative writing ? Give examples. - Chhatrapati Shahu …
What are 5 important benefits of creative writing? • Imagination. Creative writing boosts your imagination as you create new worlds, situations and characters in your work . 1. Expository …
The Benefits of Writing - Northern Illinois University
Writing might be beneficial to cognitive skills because it re-quires focusing of attention, planning and forethought, organization of one’s thinking, and reflective thought, among other abilities – …
Creative writing in schools evidence review - Scottish Book …
Research shows that the creative and imaginative aspects of an activity are key to allowing pupils to reap the benefits from creative writing. These expressive elements increase pupil …
THE EFFECTS OF CREATIVE WRITING ACTIVITIES ON …
writing activities emphasize skills such as planning, criticizing, developing, making decisions, and evaluating is directly related to creativity (Uzun, 2015), and one of the methods in which these …
The Psychology of Creative Writing - Scott Barry Kaufman
scientific knowledge about the psychology of creative writing. In particular, investigations of the personality and mood of creative writers have yielded interesting insights into the determinants …
The Importance of Writing * Blanka Frydrychova Klimova
Maley (2009), for example, emphasizes the following benefits of creative writing: • it aids language development at all levels: grammar, vo-cabulary, phonology and discourse; it requires...
Expressive and creative writing in the therapeutic context: …
We found that, although expressive writing is clearly defined and its benefits on mental health empirically well established, creative writing lacks a consistent conceptualization in clinical …
Creative Writing - Duke University
Creative writing, a form of artistic expression, draws on the imagination to convey meaning through the use of imagery, narrative, and drama. This is in contrast to analytic or pragmatic …
Creative Writing in Schools - papernations.org
Writers involved in Paper Nations highlighted the benefits of having space and structure to generate ideas, reflect on one another’s writing, and engage in the process (rather than …
CREATIVE WRITING FOR EFL CLASSROOM: STUDENTS’ …
educational benefits of creative writing can enhance the pedagogical approach, fostering a more comprehensive and enriching learning experience for EFL students.
Neon Words: The Benefits of Expressive Writing Flyer
Expressive writing has many benefits. Writing about life helps people, among other things: • get healthy! Research shows that people who write about emotional up- heavals require fewer …
Creative writing planning and evaluation toolkit - Scottish …
There are many benefits of creative writing, including improvements in health and wellbeing, positive destinations, and attainment across the curriculum through improved literacy skills.
RETHINKING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CREATIVE WRITING: …
in what ways can we see creative writing as an art form and why is it educationally valuable? What is lost in a functional view of creative writing and how does it contribute to language …
N43 05 Creative Writing Learning Benefits and Effective …
In addition, learners can improve their language awareness because creative writing encourages them to be more attentive to their own discourse. An effective learning method is the …
Creative Writing, Literature, Storytelling and Mental Health
vided useful evidence for the benefits of creative writing, as distinct from the arts in general. It identified specific positive consequences from using literature, creative writing and poetry in …
Using Technology to Support Creative Writing: How It …
We concluded that web-assisted creative writing practices had positive effects on teachers’ digital writing skills, digital writing habits, self-efficacy regarding digital education technology …
ENHANCING CREATIVE WRITING ABILITIES IN A FOREIGN …
Creative writing is the most effective way of communicating ideas, thoughts, feelings and opinions. It enriches our vocabulary, develops imagination, and improves expressiveness, all …
Why teach creative writing? Examining the challenges of its
In brief, it suggests that many creative writing teachers: • Facilitate their students’ personal growth and healing. • Encourage the exploration of unknown topics. • Help their students sell their …
the psychology of creative writing - Cambridge University …
The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, …
The effectiveness of creative writing in language learners
According to Ekaterina Arshavskaya (2015), creative writing could be a way to engage those students that have less motivation. Archavskaya (2015) argues that students, with the help of …
What is creative writing ? Give examples. - Chhatrapati …
What are 5 important benefits of creative writing? • Imagination. Creative writing boosts your imagination as you create new worlds, situations and characters in your work . 1. Expository …
